Water-purifying apparatus.



A. SDRGB, Jn. WATER PURIPYING APPARATUS.

AHLIOATIUH FILED APB. 7, 1905. 902,847. Patented Nov.3,19os.

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A. soRGE, JR. WATER PURIPYING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATIDH FILED APB. 7, 1905.

902,847. Patented Nov.3, 1908.

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ADOLPH SORGE, JR., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WATER-PURIFYIN G APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Eatented Nov. 3, 1908.

Application led April 7, 1905. Serial No. 254,271.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLrI-I SORGE, Jr., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in IVater-Purifying Apparatus, of which the follovvingis a speci fication.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of Water purifying apparatus comprising an open heater, in which the impurities that it is desired to be rid of are brought dovvn or collected by the chemical action of reagents supplied for the purpose, and are then removed from the Water by filtration, as shown, for example, by my Patent No. 683,349, of Sept. 24, 1901.

The object of the present invention is to improve such apparatus in respect to the construction and location of its filter bed, to render such filter bed capable of being readily removed and altered or adapted to meet the filtration requirements of various qualities of feed Water, to provide, Without excessive cost, for a settling chamber Within which a large portion of the impurities precipitated from the feed Water may be collected before the water reaches the filter, to provide an emergency outlet which Will enable the Water to flow past the filter and escape to the boilers Without substantial interruption, even if the filter becomes clogged, and generally to provide a simple andD improved form of apparatus capable of being supplied in large units at a minimum of cost.

In the accompanying draWings,-Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a hot Water purifying apparatus constructed in accordance With my improvements in one form. Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation thereof taken on line Q--Q of Fig. 1. Figs 3, 4 and 5 are details of the filter construction.

In said drawings, 1 designates a feed water heater of the open type or variety; 2 a supply pipe Which discharges the feed water into the upper end of said heater; 3 the outlet pipe leading from the heater to the boilers (not herein illustrated), and 4 and 5 the inlet and exhaust pipes through which the steam from the engine is supplied to and conducted from the heater. The latter may be of any usual or desired construction, it being herein shown as provided at its upper portion with a series of inclined trays 6, upon the uppermost one of Which the cold feed-Water entering through the supply pipe 2 is discharged to flow in a shallow stream over the succeeding lower trays, subject to the heating influence of the surrounding atmosphere of exhaust-steam, until it finally falls from the lowermost tray in a heated condition and collects in the lower portion of the heater, ready to be drawn off through the outlet `pipe 3, leading to the boilers. A suitable float 7 controlling a valve 8 in the Water supply pipe, through appropriate intermediate connections 9, is provided to regulate the admission of feed Water in accordance With the rate at which it is drawn off to the boilers.

The chemical treatment of the feed-Water is herein shown as accomplished by means of a chemical-tank 10, in Which the desired reagent is placed and which is supplied Wit Water under pressure from a suitable source, conveniently through a connection 11, leading from the supply-pipe 2. The Water entering through this connection beA comes impregnated With the rea ent and is then discharged back into the eed-Water through a pipe 12, in Which a sight-feed 13 is provided to enable its flow to be visually regulated. The impurities precipitated from the feed-Water by this chemical treatment are then removed from the Water by filtration.

In eneral the apparatus thus far describe is similar to that disclosed in my Patent No. 683,349, of Sept. 24, 1901, hereinbefore referred to, and the details of its construction have in themselves no particular relation to the present improvements, except as hereinafter particularly pointed out. Of these improvements, one feature consists in arranging the filter bed F in a vertical position, preferably at one end of the lower portion or base 14 of the heater, which lower portion or base is herein shown as made in the form of an elongated vat or tank, that can be structurally separate from the upper portion of the heater 1 and may be built of Wood and of large capacity at a minimum of cost. With the filter thus arranged in a vertical position, that portion of the vat or tank on the inner or heater side of the filter becomes, in effect, a settling,

ment, therefore, operates directly tdretardi and minimize the clogging of the filter bed (which clogging, as is well known, is one of the great drawbacks to purifying apparatusof this character), and'it not only renders the cleaning of the filter less frequently necessary, but greatly facilitates cleaning operations by reason of the tendency of the precipitates to fall downwardly away from the bed by gravity, especially when loosened by the action of a jet ofil water froma hose. The precipitates collecting in the settling chamber, and falling from the filter bed, as suggested, may be removed in any suitable manner, as by washing them out through a discharge pipe 15.

The vertical position of the filter bed F also lends itself to a readily removable con struction whichI is of great convenience in permitting the filter to be altcred'and adapted to most advantageously handle the peculiar character ofy feed water which is to be passed through it in any particular case. Thus the precipitates of one quality ofi feed water may be satisfactorily removed by filter blankets alone. Others may require a filter bed of quartz, and for still others filter beds of still different materials and characteristics may be preferable. To enable any of -these requirements to be readily met, the

filter bed in the present improvement is made in the shape of aA rectangular frame Work 16, which is removably supported between vertical guide ways 1-7 on the inner sides of,

the lower or tank portion 14. of the heater. A section 18 of the top of this tank portion is maderemovable to permit the filter frame 16 to be slipped in and out of its guideways at will, and in order to substitute one construction of filter bed for another, it is, therefore, only necessary to lift one filter frame out of the tank and insert another such fran/1e in its place. Or the same filter frame, when lifted out of the tank, may be renewed or altered to suit the conditions in hand, and then dropped-back into place with but little loss of time.

As herein shown suoli filter frame 16 is made up of a rectangular marginal frame which incloses a species of open work grating 19 forming the foundation of the filter bed. This grating may be of any suitable construction, andi is herein shown as made up, like a steel door mat, offtwo layers of sheet metal strips (of galvanized iron, for example), of which the strips of cach layer are bent or fastened together in such manner as to affordy a multiplicity of cells or openings adapted to be packed full of quartz,A eXcelsior, or other filter material, if so desired; As herein shown these strips are bent into the shapes illustrated in Fig. 5, andare connected by pivot rods 19a so that each entire grating may be rolled up into small compass for packing and shipment. A filter blanket 2O is herein shown as inserted between the sections of the double grating 19 thus provided, while other blanketsQl are placed over the outer' faces of the ldouble gratings which may then be secured together` by an` appropriate number of through bolts 22. To lock these outer blankets in place and hold the gratings se curely within the marginal rectangular frame, the latter is herein shown as also made double (Fig. 4) and as laterally flanged, as at 2,3, along the inner edge of each of its sectionsl 24. The edges of the outer` blankets 21 are then turned inwardly around the edges of the gratings and beneath the flanges-23A and the latter are drawn together by clamping bolts 25 applied between the sections 24. The flanges E23 are somewhat inwardly inclined toward their outer lateral edges and consequently exert a wedge-like action upon the anges when drawn together, with the result that the blankets are securely clamped around the gratings while the latter arc securely held within the marginal frame, as desired.

Another feature of the present improvelnents consists in providingan overflow passage around the filter so that in case the filter becomes clogged to such an extent as fo prevent a sufllcient flow of the feed water through the filter to the boiler, the water will riseback of the filter until it overflows into the discharge end of the tank, from which the boiler feed pipe leads, with the result that a full supply to the boilers will be maintained, notwithstanding the clogging of the filter. ln case of such overflow the water passing to the boilers will, of course, be unfiltered water, but this is an emergencyT condition less detrimental than thc total cutting off' of the feed water supply might be. In the improved construction herein shown andi in which the filter bed is arranged vertically, as described, such overflow is provided for by arranging the upper edge of the filter frame 16 somewhat below the top of the tank, thus leaving a space 26 through which the Water may flow in case the filterbecomes clogged, the filter bed, in such case, simply acting as a dam against whichthe water rises until it canflow over as described. It will, however, be understood that such an overflow, operating to substantially the saine end, may be provided in connectionwith=fil`ter beds whichA are not arranged vertically, with similar beneficial results. In

connection with such overflow, also, and no matter how the filter bed is arranged, it is necessary to locate the float 7 which controls the valve 8 in the water supply pipe 2, on the outside of the filter bed or at the discharge end of the tank in which the filter bed is located. to control the admission of feed water to the heater inV accordance with the demands ot consumption, and not in accordance with the rate at which the water is filtered, as is the case where the float is located on the inncr side of the filter. Thus when on the Outer side of the filter, the float serres to maintain the normal level of' water in the discharge end of the tank, and if by reason of' the clogging of the filter this rater level tends to lower, the descent ot' the float immediately opens the valve 8 wider and increases the supply of water until either the tlow ot' vater tlirough the filter is sufficiently increased by reason ot' the greater filter surface exposed and the increased pressure of water against the filter, or until the water rises on the inner side of the filter to a point where it flows past the filter through the overfiow passage, as described, the full supply of feed water to the boiler being thus obviously maintained in either ease without regard to the condition olI the tilter.

To enable the condition oit' the filter with respect to its ability to pass water through it. to be readily determined at any time, it is further contemplated that two gage glasses 2T and 28 will be provided on the tank 14. one ou the inner and the other on the outer side of' the filter. An abnormal amount of clogging of the filter will then be indicated by an excessive difference in the water levels indicated by the two gage glasses, and if the water rises high enough on the inner side of the filter to flow over the top of the heater, the gage glass 27 on this side of the filter will render the fact obvious at a glance, and will call the engineers attention to the fact that the filter needs cleaning. The use of two gage glasses, placed one on each side of the filter bed in a purifying apparatus of the character under consideration` is not, however. herein shown or claimed per sc as a part of the present improvements, it having already been made the subject matter of my latent No. 860,702, granted to me July 23, 1907.

One of the advantages of the filter construction herein described is the ease with which it can be renewed, altered, or repaired. Both the filter blankets and the cellular metallic gratings may be removed or replaced at short notice, and are capable of being rolled up into small compass for shipment. And where an additional filtering material, such as quartz, or the like, is also desired, it may be readily filled into the cells of the The said float then serves` metallic grating before the filter blankets are in place, and may be as readily removed therefrom and replaced by new quartz or by ulnitever substitute material may be considered preferable.

l claim as my invention :w-

l. ln a water purifying aplmratus, the combination with an open heater, of means for supplying a chemical re-agent thereto to precipitate the impurities in the water, a settling tank connected with the heater, a filter bed through which the water normally flows in escaping from the settling tank and an overflow passage leading past the filter bed and having unobstructed communication with the outlet, substantially as described.

2. A water purifying apparatus, comprising an open heater, means for supplying a chemical re-agcnt thereto to precipitate the impurities in the water, a settling tank connected with the heater, and a vertically arranged filter bed through which the Water from the tank normally fiows, the upper edge of said filter bed terminating below the top of the tank so as to afford an overflow, and an open channel leading from the outlet side of the filter and overflow, substantially as described.

l. water purifying apparatus, comprising an open heater` means for supplying' a chemical reagent thereto to precipitate the impurities in the Vater, a tank connected with the heater, a filter' bed through which the water in the tank is discharged, an overflow passage leading past the filter bed to the outlet', and a float controlled valve maintainingl a normal water level in the outlet end of the tank tending to produce a constant volume of discharge through the outlet, substantially as described.

t. water purifying apparatus comprising an open heater, means for supplying a chemical reagent thereto to precipitate the impurities in the water, a settling tank connected with the heater, a vertically arranged filter bed through which the water from the tank normally fiows and the upper edge of which terminates below the top of the tank to afford an over-How through which the water may pass to the outlet on occasions, and a float controlled valve for maintaining a normal water level in the outlet end of the tank tending to produce a constant volume of discharge from the tank, substantially as described.

5. A filter bed for open heaters comprising an inclosing frame, a eXible cellular grating fitting within the inclosing frame to receive filter material, and pervious septa secured within the frame against the grating, sul'istantially as described.

t3. A filter bed comprising an inclosing frame consisting of two laterally supported sections connected by clamping bolts, a cellular grating fitted within the inclosing frame adapted to receive filter material, and filter es my invention, I aix my signature in blankets secured within the frame on oppopresence of two subscribing witnesses, this siie Sides of the grating with their edges i 31st ley of Marei1,A. D. 1905.

turned in und secured by the clamping to- A. SORGE, JR.

5 gether of the inciosing frame sections, sub- Witnesses:

stantiaiiy as described. HENRY W. CARTER, In testimony, that I claim the foregoing i K. A. COSTELLO. 

